Kristi Kates | Author

The Retro-now Sound of Postmodern Jukebox Coming to Traverse City

Oct. 21, 2017

Trends are said to always happen in cycles, with everything old becoming new again. Few manage to capitalize on that phenomenon better than the music collective Postmodern Jukebox — aka PMJ — an ever-rotating group of performers that recasts hit songs of recent decades as thro... Read More >>

An Egyptian-inspired Adventure in Harbor Springs

Oct. 14, 2017

Every October, the Headlands International Dark Sky Park, just north of Harbor Springs, hosts the Headlands Challenge, a one-mile walk by candlelight through the dark woods. The destination: The park’s event center, where program director and star lore historian, Mary Stewart Adams,... Read More >>

Beck – Colors – Capitol

Oct. 14, 2017

He’s been working on this album since 2013, and the wait was well worth it. The latest from Beck still offers complexity, but it’s sharper, more to-the-point ’60s-inspired pop-rock that’s equal parts psychedelia and Greenwich Village folk. “Dear Life” f... Read More >>

Shut Up, Dance, and Walk the Moon

Oct. 14, 2017

You’ll probably best recognize ’80s-inspired Cincinnati synth band Walk the Moon from its massive hit “Shut Up and Dance,” but that isn’t the only move this quartet has. It’s returning with a brand new album, What If Nothing, o... Read More >>

Traverse City’s M.O. Hair and Beauty Lounge is a Hair Ahead

Oct. 14, 2017

 

According to Green Circle Salons, a recycling and sustainability program for the beauty industry, North American hair salons reportedly toss out 63,180 pounds of hair clippings, 42,122 pounds of hair color, 109,512 pounds of foil and hair-color tubes and 206,392 pounds of w... Read More >>

Beyond the Haunted House

Oct. 14, 2017

Want to experience something a little different than your typical haunted house this Halloween? Spook your spirit with these six unsettling and unusual Halloween events that will chill your bones and send you running in the opposite direction (after you’re done having fun, of course... Read More >>

Ambition on the Airwaves: Radio Man Ron Jolly

Oct. 7, 2017

In 1983, an ambitious young man named Ron Jolly walked in the doors of the Specs Howard School of Broadcast Arts in Southfield, Mich. That same man has been the 7am-10am host at WTCM in Traverse City for the past 22 years, with just one short break in the middle. He’s also the subje... Read More >>

Mackinaw City Popcorn Factory

Oct. 7, 2017

Popcorn. 

What do you think when you read that word? A few things that spring to mind might be crunchy, salty, and most likely movies. Or maybe those giant tins of caramel corn that you get from relatives during the holidays. But you’ve probably never had popcorn lik... Read More >>

Cars, Stars, and History at Sloan*Longway

Oct. 7, 2017

Can’t decide between a museum, a planetarium, or learning more about Michigan’s automobile industry? No worries – you can enjoy all three at the triple-threat downstate destination that is Sloan*Longway in Flint by Kristi Kates

When the Sloan Museum, Longway Plan... Read More >>

Traverse City's Harvest Restaurant

Sept. 30, 2017

 

When Harvest debuted in June 2014 in in the alley between Front and State Streets in Traverse City, the only visible sign of its existence to passersby on nearby Union Street — if they happened to look east — was a large sign hanging off the façade of a m... Read More >>

Chris Janson – Everybody – Warner Nashville

Sept. 30, 2017

If you’ve heard Janson’s debut album, a good ol’ boy trek through a long list of country-music-subject standbys, then you’ll equally like this set, which includes even more bar-hopping, farming, and blue-collar anthems (Janson’s tunes are often called “... Read More >>

Farmer White’s Unpasteurized Apple Cider

Sept. 30, 2017

It’s that time of year again: crisp leaves, sweatshirts, pumpkin everything, and of course, apple cider. Fans of authentic, vintage-styled cider — i.e., unpasteurized and unfiltered — can’t go wrong with Farmer White’s in Williamsburg, where they make apple c... Read More >>

5 Essential October Events for the Fall-Obsessed

Sept. 30, 2017

Ready for the best of autumn? You will be after checking out this trio of Halloween-season warmups and fall festival extravaganzas — you can even hit all three of these events in a single weekend!

AN AUTUMNAL DAY
Pond Hill Farm’s Farm... Read More >>

Beck Colors in a New Album

Sept. 30, 2017

Beck is set to release his much-anticipated and much delayed album Colors this month on Capitol Records. It will be The Beckster’s first full-length album since his 2014 Grammy Award winning effort Morning Phase, which snagged the Album of the Year nod. You... Read More >>

Master farrier Phil Shapton

Sept. 30, 2017

The average saddle horse weights 900 to 1,400 pounds. And Phil Shapton has that amount of living, breathing weight hovering above him on a regular basis. Shapton is a master farrier — a professional horseshoer — responsible for keeping these equines walking comfortably. &ldquo... Read More >>

Farmers Markets to Get You Through Winter

Sept. 30, 2017

As summer ends and fall begins its slow crawl toward winter, all of the produce and locally grown products we’ve enjoyed start to fade away … or do they? If you’re fortunate enough to live within driving distance of one of these locations, you can enjoy farm-fresh goodn... Read More >>

Gifts From the North Woods: How Nathan Wright Founded Herbal Lodge

Sept. 25, 2017

 

He’s most familiar with the crunch of twigs underfoot, the scents of pine and earth — and the elusive gifts that nature can bring. It’s safe to say that Nathan Wright (pictured above) spends a lot of time in the woods.

“As a kid growing ... Read More >>

Musique Soulchild – Feel the Real – eOne

Sept. 23, 2017

 

It’s all about the voice, ’bout the voice on this set from the soulful artist Musique Soulchild, whose first two albums hit platinum status at a remarkably rapid rate. Now he’s back with this two-disc set to stake his claim to that accomplishment, with spo... Read More >>

Teddy Griffin’s Quinoa Shrimp

Sept. 23, 2017

Chef Delroy Ricketts has been working at Teddy Griffin’s Roadhouse in Harbor Springs since he arrived in northern Michigan from Jamaica 16 years ago. “I was just a crazy kid, coming up here to chase girls,” he said with a laugh.

Ricketts’ plan worked ou... Read More >>

Bruno Mars Heading to TV

Sept. 23, 2017

Multi-Grammy Award winner Bruno Mars — whom you’ll recognize from his two widely lauded Super Bowl halftime performances — is ready to nab another big TV win: his very own first prime time TV special. Bruno Mars: 24K Magic Live at the Apollo wil... Read More >>